Twenty Thousand Hertz+

The stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Hosted by Sound Designer Dallas Taylor, Twenty Thousand Hertz unlocks the stories, secrets and science behind what you hear.

Whether you’re a professional audio engineer with decades of experience, a fourth grader who loves sound and music, or anyone in between, you’ll find something to love: the sound design secrets of hit movies, the forgotten backstories of classic theme songs, the sonic craft of jingles and device sounds, linguistic mysteries, psychoacoustics, video game music, animal communication, and beyond. With moving human stories, immersive sound design, and non-stop ear candy, Twenty Thousand Hertz has grown into the world’s leading podcast about sound. 

New to the show? Start here:

• I'm Lovin' It: How “Ba da ba ba ba” took over the world

• The Art of Foley: Bringing Slimer & Batman to life

• Tudum! The story behind the iconic Netflix sound

• The Legend of Zelda: A Beep to the Past

• Inside Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Studios

• A sonic journey through the Solar System

• Mind the Gap: NYC & London’s iconic transit voices

Design
Arts
Music Commentary
101
Shock Horror A: The origin of the dramatic “Du...
Dun dun duuun!
27 min
102
MicroHertz: To the ISS!
20K visits the International Space Station
15 min
103
Sleight of Ear: Behind the scenes w/ Dallas Ta...
Dallas reveals the tricks of the trade.
24 min
104
Breathe: My Unexpected Journey
A story from Dallas’ former life.
32 min
105
Relearning Boléro: How our brains rewrite the ...
Can we really trust our ears?
38 min
106
Ghosts in the Hit Machine: The secrets of music...
Inside the secretive world of ghostwriting and ghost producing.
27 min
107
Why Windows Got Rid of Startup Sounds
The death and rebirth of the Windows startup sound.
31 min
108
Ta-da! The history of Windows’ classic startup...
Start me up.
26 min
109
The Waterphone: Hollywood’s spookiest sound effect
The sound that haunts Hollywood.
24 min
110
Mind the Gap: NYC & London’s iconic transit vo...
Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
32 min
111
Hidden Hitmakers: The unsung heroes behind pop...
Who writes the hits for the pop stars?
33 min
112
Happy Little Episode: The soothing voice of Bob...
How a soft-spoken, poofy-haired painter changed the world, one gentle word at a time.
41 min
113
Pirate Radio: Britain’s AM rebels of the ’60s
How a group of scrappy radio pirates changed the course of music history.
33 min
114
Being Dallas Taylor: Meeting my name twins
What’s in a name?
40 min
115
Sul Sul! Behind the gibberish language of The Sims
The secrets of Simlish, the gibberish language of The Sims.
25 min
116
Guess That Sound 2021: Underunderstood
The hosts of Underunderstood go head to head in our annual Mystery Sound game.
37 min
117
The Static Angel: How HBO perfected its sonic i...
How HBO reconciled its analog past with its digital future.
25 min
118
It’s Not TV: Behind HBO’s legendary sounds
How HBO crafted two of the most iconic pieces of sonic branding in history.
23 min
119
One simple trick scientists say will stop snoring
If you live with a snorer, it can be tricky to roll out of bed after a night of little sleep.
40 min
120
Creature Speakers: The art of voicing monsters
How do you voice over 200 monsters?
26 min
121
How blind gamers are changing the world of vide...
The ins and outs of gaming without sight.
24 min
122
Sports Without Sight: The sound-driven world of...
Keep your ears on the ball.
21 min
123
Sound Cinema: Experiencing film through audio ...
Hearing is believing.
27 min
124
Sonic Bubbles: Escaping noise, but at what cost?
Self-control through sound control.
24 min
125
Domestic Symphony: Why your dryer has a theme song
What happens when dryers and dishwashers get the sound design treatment?
22 min